SMART Blog

Smart Services has been providing independent agents with proactive, fast, and expert technology services since 1991.

This is Your Last Chance to Abandon Windows 7

This is Your Last Chance to Abandon Windows 7

In just over a week, Microsoft is retiring two of its most popular operating systems - although this shouldn’t be news at this point. Microsoft has consistently been reminding Windows 7 users that they need to upgrade before January 14, running a major campaign to do so, but there are still a quarter of all desktop users that haven’t done so.

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It’s Time to Take Control Over Your Printers!

It’s Time to Take Control Over Your Printers!

It’s pretty easy to ignore the printers around your office - until they run out of toner/ink, or jam, or just disappear from your network for seemingly no reason. Okay, it’s easy to ignore printers most of the time. Unfortunately, business owners do tend to ignore their printers, and this can get really expensive over time.

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Automation Plays a Critical Role in Cybersecurity

Automation Plays a Critical Role in Cybersecurity

Automation is sometimes misconceived as a troublesome or unreliable addition to business. It’s not about replacing people with machines, it’s about getting more done with the people you have. Having an attitude that doubts technology and believes nothing can replace human processing can quickly put you at a disadvantage compared to your competitors.

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Getting to Know Technology: Fiber Optics

Getting to Know Technology: Fiber Optics

As hokey as it sounds, the Internet almost transcends other pieces of technology. While estimating the economic impact of the Internet is a formidable feat, Cisco came up with 19 trillion dollars - 21 percent of all the money in the world. So, with access to a resource this valuable, it’s silly not to make the most of it.

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Cybersecurity Throughout History

Cybersecurity Throughout History

The way a business approaches its network security is a crucial consideration - especially to a business that is planning to have a future. This has contributed to cybersecurity becoming a multi-hundred-billion-dollar (per year) industry. In its short history, cybersecurity has had a huge impact on businesses, so we felt it would be useful to go through some of the highlights of its deployment.

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Expansion of Remote Work

Expansion of Remote Work

Is your business equipped with the necessary tooling to adopt remote working strategies? Remote workers have an incredible amount of benefits to contribute to your business’ operations. Remote work is not possible without a well-thought-out strategy. Today, we’ll review what your business needs in order to capitalize on remote workers. 

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Are You Ready for a Ransomware Resurgence?

Are You Ready for a Ransomware Resurgence?

Ransomware attacks grew less common in both 2018 and thus far in 2019 when compared to 2017. Unfortunately, recent events have made it more likely that this trend will reverse in the near future. Why is that? Simple: some municipalities have set a precedent of paying up.

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AI and IT: A Natural Match

AI and IT: A Natural Match

Artificial Intelligence is one technology that garners excitement and fear. People’s imaginations tend to run away with them when they have conversations about AI. Businesses of all types are starting to figure how they can utilize advanced artificial intelligence platforms and machine learning to facilitate better business, but is it working? Let’s take a look at how AI innovation is changing business and see how ready AI is for primetime.

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If You Haven’t, Upgrading from Windows 7 Should Be a Priority

If You Haven’t, Upgrading from Windows 7 Should Be a Priority

If your computer is running Windows 7 as its operating system, it’s time to start thinking about the future. Microsoft has officially unveiled the End-of-Life date for Windows 7, meaning that they will eventually stop supporting computers running the much-loved operating system. What does this mean for your business? Let’s find out.

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Tip of the Week: Managing Your Windows Arrangement

Tip of the Week: Managing Your Windows Arrangement

The modern worker (or really, the modern person) spends a lot of their time looking at a computer screen. Considering this, it only makes sense that their screens and the items displayed on them are arranged in a way that they like. Our tip covers a few shortcuts to help you arrange and view the items on your workstation a little quicker.

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Amazon’s Alexa Is Entering the Workplace

Amazon’s Alexa Is Entering the Workplace

Every business executive wants an office assistant that can help with the everyday “grunt work.” These office assistants handle a lot of work that the busy business owner simply doesn’t have time for. Unfortunately, small businesses are working with a limited budget, making the odds of affording extra help slim to none. Can Amazon’s Alexa offer an alternative to this dilemma?

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Redundancy: a Benefit When Dealing with Data

Redundancy: a Benefit When Dealing with Data

Data is the backbone of any modern business. Since your organization relies so much on it, you need to have measures in place to ensure that your business can access it in some way, shape or form at all times. This is easier said than done, especially for a business on a budget. We’ll walk you through how you can implement a comprehensive data backup solution to protect your organization.

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Keep Your End Users From Contributing to Security Issues

Keep Your End Users From Contributing to Security Issues

Insider threats contribute to a significant number of data breaches. These cases of data exposure are enabled by a member of your staff, whether they intended to harm your business or simply made an honest mistake. With so much focus directed toward the threats out in the world, sometimes we forget that the biggest dangers can be among our ranks. To make up for this, we’ll discuss a few ways to keep insider threats from doing your business too much harm.

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Tip of the Week: Did You Know Your Computer Can Do All This?

Tip of the Week: Did You Know Your Computer Can Do All This?

Your computer is mostly just a machine used to accomplish specific tasks. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t know all of the advanced tips that help you get the most out of it, though. Here are some of the best shortcuts that you can use to take full advantage of your workstation.

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Tip of the Week: We All Make Mistakes, but Try To Avoid These Computing Ones

Tip of the Week: We All Make Mistakes, but Try To Avoid These Computing Ones

Mistakes happen, especially where technology is involved. There are plenty of ways that user error can occur when using a computer--many of which are avoidable through simple preventative measures. For our tip this week, we’ll go over some behaviors to avoid when using a computer.

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Are the Deals Better on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

Are the Deals Better on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

Many consider the beginning of the holiday (shopping) season to be Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. This day is infamous for deals so good, people are willing to wait in line for hours before the stores even open in order to take advantage of them--however, are these deals really the best, when Cyber Monday is now in play? We examined what can be expected on the major deal days to find out.

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Tip of the Week: Planning Your Holiday Travels? Have A Plan For Productivity

Tip of the Week: Planning Your Holiday Travels? Have A Plan For Productivity

With Labor Day now behind us, it’s a hop, skip, and jump until the holidays arrive. With more companies allowing their employees to work remotely, holiday travel means that people are going to be taking their work on the road with them. Preventing credit card and identity theft has been a priority for shoppers during the season for many years. It’s important that the same security considerations be given to technology being used for business while traveling.

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Tip of the Week: Microsoft Outlook Is Easier With Shortcuts

Tip of the Week: Microsoft Outlook Is Easier With Shortcuts

Microsoft Outlook can be a fantastic way to communicate, but only if you know how best to use it. When you’re using it to reach out to clients or vendors, you need to consider the best practices and shortcuts you can use to make the most of it. We’ll discuss some of the best ways that you can use Microsoft Outlook to help your business function better as a whole.

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Scams to Watch For This Holiday Season

Scams to Watch For This Holiday Season

Hackers put a lot of thought and effort into coming up with new ways to fool the unsuspecting consumer, especially during the holiday season. Here are some recent scams you should watch for.

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Tip of the Week: Annoyed By Fake Friend Requests on Facebook? Here’s an Easy Fix

Tip of the Week: Annoyed By Fake Friend Requests on Facebook? Here’s an Easy Fix

Have you ever received Facebook requests from people you don’t know? While it might be tempting to give them the benefit of the doubt -- after all, maybe they know a friend of yours -- it’s best to keep strangers off of your page when you can. In order to give your page the flexibility to accept friend requests from people you may know and protect it from strangers, you can implement a “follow” feature, and limit who can send you friend requests.

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